Hotel 1898

These days when a hotelier is stuck for a name, the safest solution is just to use the street address — it’s mysterious and blank, and avoids unwanted connotations, or any connotations at all. As it turns out, Barcelona’s Hotel 1898 is named not for its address at all, but for the year Spain lost the Philippines — in fact the building once housed the headquarters of Philippines Tobacco. It’s something of a throwback to a classic era of hotels, before the boutique boom: when men were men, and hotels had pools.

This one has two; one outdoor, and one indoor, in the vault that now contains the spa. It’s an urban hotel, but one with a decidedly resort-like atmosphere, though incongruously placed on the corner of Pintor Fortuny and La Rambla (Barcelona’s famous market boulevard). The look is in keeping with the building’s colonial heritage. There’s plenty of brick, aged wood, rich leather, and a seafaring theme that’s refreshingly bold in these days of international-style minimalism.

As for the comforts, they’re impeccable — rooms are dead quiet, with king beds and state-of-the-art bathrooms. Some suites come with gardens and private pools, though the rest of us make do with the spa (did we mention the two pools?). In addition there’s a small gym, a business center, and a restaurant with a view of the Rambla — not bad at all, for downtown Barcelona.